4 keys to victory for the Carolina Panthers at Falcons in Week 8
By Noah Bryce
Carolina Panthers must get Stephon Gilmore up to speed quickly
No one player can win a game on their own, but having a star doesn’t exactly hurt your chances. That’s what the Carolina Panthers hope to have once Stephon Gilmore is ready to roll for his new team.
The Panthers’ secondary as a whole has been pretty good this season. But mental mistakes and the odd blown coverage has hurt the team, especially on the side opposite Donte Jackson.
A rotation of C.J. Hendersen, Keith Taylor Jr., and Rashaan Melvin has been sharing the duties at and it’s been up and down, to say the least. A.J. Bouye has had his moments covering the slot, but Jaycee Horn’s injury was a body blow.
The insertion of Gilmore into the starting lineup should do wonders to solidify the position and the team needs to get the former NFL Defensive Player of the Year up to speed quickly to exploit all that he can bring to the table.
Simply putting Gilmore into a rotation won’t really do much as a veteran like Matt Ryan will just target whoever comes in to replace him.
Gilmore will have two weeks of learning under his belt and a player of that caliber should have no problems knowing what to do given that much time to look things over. Instincts are also a thing that doesn’t need a transition period.
So put the veteran corner in early and often.
The Panthers are going to need the help against an Air Raid offense like the Atlanta Falcons and the weapons they can call upon for massive gains. We saw this in Week 7 when Ryan was perfect on throws of over 20 yards against the Miami Dolphins.
Any mental mistake could cost the Panthers. There is no space for a learning experience with the season balanced on a razor’s edge where Gilmore is concerned.